State Rep.
Jay Livingstone

North End/West End

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“I try to make the state and district a better place,” said State Representative Jay Livingstone of the 8th Suffolk District. “I was drawn to this work because I wanted to make things better for people in my community.”

Livingstone’s partnership with ABCD’s began with a visit to the State House that sparked his relationship with ABCD’S North End/West End Neighborhood Service Center. He recalled “I began to attend their events and helped rent a bus for their annual summer trip.” 

His volunteer work with ABCD also included planning and coordinating the opening of a new neighborhood center located in the West End, the West End Neighborhood Center. “It’s incredibly exciting and will meet a real need as a central place to host many of the same events and provide resources that the North End NSC offers, including a food pantry.”   

While Back Bay and Beacon Hill are viewed as affluent areas, Rep. Livingstone notes that food insecurity is a common denominator for all. “Every neighborhood I’ve represented struggled with food insecurity. Beacon Hill and the West End are no different in this regard,” he said.

Jay said that he is “humbled and honored’ to be recognized as an ABCD Community Hero and remains motivated to fight poverty in the West End, Beacon Hill and beyond. “There are people in these neighborhoods who are struggling,” he said. “We still don’t have an adequate social safety net, and there are always ways to improve. I enjoy being a part of that.”